


How the Hell did this Happen?

by where_the_stars_shine



Category: NCIS
Genre: F/M, Gender or Sex Swap, Genderbend, Genderswap, M/M, True Love
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-04-24
Updated: 2016-06-26
Packaged: 2018-05-29 23:22:12
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 7,520
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6398395
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/where_the_stars_shine/pseuds/where_the_stars_shine
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Tony experiences some magical changes, which force him and others to reevaluate their lives.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I apologize that McGee and Ziva aren't in this chapter very much, but I hope you enjoy!

The birds were chirping and the sun was flooding through the blinds, at the early hour of the day. Tony was awakened immediately by a pounding headache. "What the hell did I do last night?" he said aloud, clearing his throat. He brought his hands up to his temples and applied pressure, trying to alleviate his painful headache. _Why does my voice sound so weird?_

Tony scanned the events of the previous night but couldn't figure out why he had such a terrible hangover. _Four beers and a whole pizza, inhaled on his own couch...the usual. Nothing strange about that._ He felt groggy, his head hurt, and his whole body felt weird, especially around his chest. Oh, and he had to pee.

He dragged himself out of bed and stood up, wobbling slightly to catch his balance. He kept moving towards his bathroom, making his way towards the toilet, but paused in front of the mirror. Staring back at Tony was a young woman with light brown hair, ends curling to reach halfway down her back. Her greenish-hazel eyes widened back at Tony and her full lips parted into an o-shape. "What the-?" he began to ask, stopping immediately as the woman's mouth moved when he spoke. He ripped his eyes away from the mirror, expecting what was coming as he slid his hands down his body, refusing to look. His hands passed quickly over his breasts and traveled down his torso, still toned, but now curvier and softer. He cupped his hand over his crotch, feeling through his boxers and felt...nothing. No no no no no no no. He stifled a groan and finally looked down, taking in his altered appearance, and let out a high-pitched, ear-piercing shriek.

After screaming for about 30 seconds (five minutes - five whole minutes), Tony took a shaky deep breath and remembered that he had to use the bathroom. He had to sit (cringe) to pee, and he could no longer just shake and go.

He was thankfully fully clothed when he woke up, so he was able to avoid having to touch this new body to put clothes on. Unfortunately, he quickly realized that he had to work today, in about a half hour, actually, and he didn't think that would be possible or that this situation would even be explainable. 

He began to nervously pace his apartment, but realized that it caused his boobs, _his boobs_ , to move around. He shuddered, unable to keep them from moving because it wasn't as though he casually had a bra in his size, in his apartment. He felt as though an anxiety attack was going to hit at any moment, so he grabbed his phone and punched in Gibbs's number.

"Gibbs," he answered on the first ring.

Tony cleared his throat, trying to make it deep enough to match his actual voice. "Uh, Gibbs, I won't be coming to work today," he stated, wincing when he realized his voice wasn't convincing as his own.

"DiNozzo, are you alright? You don't sound like yourself."

Tony could practically hear Gibbs's skeptical expression through the phone. Hilarious, obviously he wasn't himself. He wasn't even a he anymore! He began to go into panic mode again, but quickly took a deep breath, not wanting his chest to move as he dry heaved.

He cleared his throat again, blinking back tears. Dumb girl hormones. "Yeah, think I just caught a bug. Should be gone soon, Boss," he stuttered, scratching the back of his head and pulling his hand away. He stared at it, dumbstruck at how delicate it now looked and how it had gotten caught in his much longer hair. He felt like he was going to faint.

The skepticism radiated through the phone's speaker into Tony's ear. "Well, alright. Feel better, DiNozzo." Gibbs hung up. 

_That was probably the weirdest Tony has ever acted,_ thought Gibbs. He walked into the lab. "Abby! I need you to do me a favor," he said, holding a Caf-Pow out to her.

She was sitting at her desk, staring at DNA samples on her computer screen. She spun around on her chair and crossed her arms over her lab coat. "What's up, Boss?"

"I need you to take a break from DNA analysis for a bit and go check on DiNozzo at home. He says he isn't feeling well, but I think there's something up. Go check it out for me?"

Abby jumped up excitedly, grabbing her giant cup of Caf-Pow. "You got it boss! I could definitely use a break. I'll report back to you later!" She walked excitedly out of the room, waving goodbye to Gibbs and obnoxiously slurping on her drink.

********************

Tony pulled his phone away from his ear and stared at it. "Huh. That was weird," he (she?) said. He shook his head violently. _I'm not actually a girl. I'm not a she._

He decided that coffee might be his best option at this point and focused all of his energy on brewing the best cup of coffee he's ever had. (It tasted just like the rest of his cups of coffee, but he was in denial about a lot of things at this point in his day, okay? Geez.)

He had just brought his coffee cup up to his mouth to take his first sip when a sharp knock on his door startled him, causing him to spill the scalding coffee down his shirt.

"Oh fuck me," he cursed, peeling his shirt away from his chest and shaking it out, on his way to the door. Another sharp knock sounded on the door. Who the hell could that be? "I'm coming, I'm coming. Jesus," he yelled, swinging open the door.

"Abby? What are you doing here?" Abby looked up, shocked.

"Oh, I-I'm sorry, miss," Abby stammered, blushing and trying not to stare at the woman's chest showing through her thin and wet t-shirt, "I think I've got the wrong apartment." She made a move to turn away and then turned back, eyes widening. "Did you just call me Abby?"

Tony held one hand on the door and stared at her, analyzing her expression as Abby's brain tried to figure out what was going on and smirking once he knew she knew who he was.

"Wait, TONY?!" Abby yelled, still in the hallway outside his apartment door, a look of guilt, pain, and bewilderment passing over her face.

"Yeeeeess," he hissed, grabbing her arm and pulling her inside. He slammed the door behind her and crossed his arms, a blush spreading across his cheeks as he pushed his chest upwards.

"What the hell happened to you?!" Abby shouted, studying his body and causing Tony's blush to deepen. 

"Stop checking me out!" he cried, his voice coming out an octave higher than usual, on the verge of tears. Abby's face softened into one of pity. She rushed towards him (her?) and wrapped her arms around him.

"Aw, Tony, it's going to be okay, we'll fix this," she cooed, "but you may want to change your shirt." She snuck a quick glance at his chest and blushed.

He glared at her, squinting his eyes, but conceded. "Yeah, you're right. I'll be right back." He stalked off to his bedroom and changed into a navy t-shirt to go with his plaid boxers.

He found Abby wiping up the coffee droplets he spilled. "Abby, stop. It's fine. It's just coffee." She jumped up, having finished cleaning up the mess, and left the dirty paper towels on the counter.

She leaned against the counter, and once again, began studying Tony. "So...how did this happen?" she asked, motioning towards Tony's, well, everything. He threw his arms into the air, just as bewildered as her.

"I have no idea. I woke up this morning and was a woman," he exclaimed, gesturing down at himself.

Abby hopped up onto a bar stool and tapped her chin with her pointer finger. "Did you do anything out-of-the-ordinary last night?"

Tony shook his head. "No, I just had a few beers and inhaled a whole pizza last night, while watching tv."

Abby stared right into Tony's eyes, unblinking. "Stop it Abby, you're making me uncomfortable," Tony said, shuddering.

"Were you alone? Last night, were you alone?" Tony glared at her. "Yeah, I was."

Abby jumped off the bar stool and snapped her fingers. "Maybe that's why this happened! I've heard of spells or magical beings that do things like this, to force people to realize that something is missing from their lives."

"So magic thought I was missing boobs?!" Tony cried, slumping over, in a pile on the floor of his kitchen. 

Abby squatted down to rub his arm reassuringly. "No, I think magic thought you were missing something else. Usually it's a true love."

Tony raised his eyebrows in shock. "Usually?" Abby shrugged. "You know I don't have a true love, I'll be stuck like this forever!" he shouted, nervously trying to run his hands through his now-long hair and getting them tangled. He ripped his hands out of his hair and let out a frustrated sigh.

Abby gave Tony a shit-eating grin. "I think you'll be surprised at your options."

"You know something I don't?"

"Would it be the first time?" Abby replied, laughing. Tony rolled his eyes.

"Ha ha ha."

"So what do I do about this?" Tony gestured again towards his body. Abby studied his body.

"Well, we're probably the same size. I can lend you some things. We need to talk to Gibbs though. He needs to know." 

Tony's eyes widened. "No no no no no no no...we can't tell Gibbs. He's going to mock me! Abby, please no, you can't make me tell him," Tony pleaded, tears springing to his eyes. "He doesn't need to know, please, Abby, please." He furiously wiped tears off of his face.

A phone began to ring, and Abby dug around in her coat. "Speak of the devil," she muttered, flipping it open. "Yeah, Gibbs, what's up?"

"Abby, did you check on Tony yet?"

She glanced over at Tony, who was still tearing up. "Yeah, I checked on him." 

Tony's head snapped up to meet Abby's eyes. "DO NOT TELL HIM ANYTHING," Tony mouthed to her, desperately.

"Well?" Gibbs stopped in the middle of the NCIS office, running his free hand through his hair. 

"Uhhh," Abby looked back up at Tony, who was waving his arms around. "He's got a bug alright. A bad one."

"That it, Abby?" Gibbs asked, still not convinced.

Abby put her face in her palm and rubbed her face. "Yeah, that's it, Boss," she replied, her voice muffled as she glanced up at Tony through her fingers.

"Good. See you soon," Gibbs said, hanging up quickly.

Abby flipped her phone shut and slid it into her coat pocket. Tony looked at her eagerly. "I'm going to get you clothes and then we're going to the office. Stay here." Tony groaned, spinning around to watch Abby leave and slam the door.

"Where else would I go?" he asked softly, knowing that she was already far gone.

********************

A sharp knock to the door pulled Tony out of his thoughts. He jumped up to quickly swing open the door. Abby walked in and tossed him a pile of clothes. "Change. Now." Tony caught the clothes and ran to his room. He flicked through each of the items. Tan sweater. Nice. Black slacks. Nice. Black heels. Hmmm, interesting choice. Plain black bra. Okay, not as interesting of a choice. No underwear. He dug through the pile again.

He poked his head out the door. "No underwear?"

"What? Like it's the first time you've gone commando?" Abby asked, teasing him.

He laughed and rolled his eyes. "Abs, you know me too well."

She threw a pillow at him from his couch. "Just get changed."

He shut the door behind him and stared at the clothes sitting on his bed. "Well, here goes nothing." He pulled his navy shirt over his head and dropped it to the floor. He quickly hooked the bra around his front and twisted it, sliding his arms so the straps would sit comfortably on his shoulders. He shucked off his boxers and pulled on the nice black slacks. Next came the tan turtleneck sweater, and lastly, the black heels. He meant to leave his room without looking at his appearance, but he happened to pass by his full-length mirror.

His eyebrows rose up his forehead, almost disappearing into his hairline. He looked good. He was attractive, but not overly showy. 

"Are you ready yet?" Abby opened the door and stopped. "Wow, you look good, girl!" she squealed.

Tony yelped in shock as Abby grabbed him and pulled him into a hug. "You'll catch that true love's eye. I promise."

"Uh, thanks Abs."

"Now let's go," Abby said excitedly, pulling Tony towards the door. He pulled his arm free, so he could grab his phone and an oversized black "Tony" peacoat, which would undoubtedly be enormous on him now.

Abby stood in the open doorway. "Come on! Let's go show you off!"

_Oh no,_ Tony thought as he was pulled out the door and dragged down the hallway of his apartment building.

********************

Abby pulled into her spot, making a sharp left turn and squealing the tires. "Abby," Tony gasped, trying to catch his breath, "you drive like Gibbs." She drives like a lunatic, an absolute lunatic.

"Well, I learned from the best," Abby snickered.

Tony sat in the passenger seat and looked himself over. "Did you purposely give me an outfit that I would wear normally?" Tony caught Abby shrugging out of the corner of his eye. 

"Maybe," she grinned. Tony rolled his eyes. Abby was clever, he'd give her that.

"You tryin' to get people to recognize me?" he asked, smoothing his hair down with his hands. _Damn, I should've brushed it this morning._

"I don't know. Maybe," Abby said smugly. 

"So I think your new name should be Annie because your name is Anthony and they're sort of similar. Hopefully, it'll be slightly less confusing for you to keep track of things."

"Why do I need a name change at all? There are girl Tonis."

Abby gave him an unamused look. "We're going for memorable but not that obvious. We're pretending that you're one of my friends who came to visit, but who is also qualified to help me in the lab, okay? You'll see most of the team, probably, but we'll be doing in the back."

Tony nodded. "Well, here goes nothing. Let's go," he said, quickly getting out of the car. He puffed up his chest, and then made himself uncomfortable in the process. He resigned himself to standing up straight without pushing out his chest. He liked boobs, but wasn't particularly fond of having his own set. And he would really rather not draw more attention to himself today than needed. He was already a stranger in his own workplace, there's no need to make it worse.

Abby was already about 100 feet ahead of him when Tony shook himself out of his thoughts. "Come on!" He ran as quickly and gracefully as he could in his heels to catch up with Abby.

********************

"So, Annie, where are you from?" Ducky asked the quiet young woman.

"Uh, well, I'm from New Orleans. Abby and I are childhood friends and we both went to Louisiana State," she replied with a small smile, tearing her eyes away from the samples she was helping Abby test.

"We were roommates!" Abby piped up excitedly.

"And you kept in contact since then?" Ducky asked, studying the woman. She was a hard worker, immediately helping Abby with all of her forensic work. She had a fixed and focused expression painted on her face, hunched over her current analysis task. The tension was obvious in the hard line of her shoulders, but she refused to sit down and take a break.

Abby glanced up from her work. "Oh yeah! It was easy! We've been consulting with each other since we both graduated. Helping each other when work gets difficult. Annie's not staying long, so I figured I'd milk her for all her skills and all she's worth. She gets a lot of work done, and she does it well," Abby said, getting up and squeezing the woman's shoulders.

"You know, you could've just asked me, Abby," Ducky said, watching her by leaning over her

Ducky smiled at Abby and her new friend, quickly looking her over, gaze resting on her face. There was a mole on her left cheek, which wasn't significant, until combined with her hazel eyes and focused expression. She looked up, eyes widening at his studious gaze.

"Can I help you with something?" she asked, curiously but with a tinge of suspicion and confrontation. _Does Ducky know? Did he really figure it out so quickly? I've only been here for an hour._ Tony tried not to let his panic show through his facial expressions, but even he could admit to himself that he should be nervous. Ducky was smart, hell he was a genius, and he knows. He took a shaky breath.

Ducky just smiled. "No, Annie, you just remind me of someone. Someone I used to know," he finished, mysteriously. She returned his smile, albeit a bit smugly. And there's the familiarity again. Her smug, toothy grin was very familiar. Not at all possible, what he was thinking, but still familiar.

"So who have you met so far?" Ducky asked, probing for information.

"Hmmmm. Well, I met Ziva upstairs, and I think Agent McGee? And Palmer, I think. Is that right, Abs?" she asked, looking for approval and confirmation. Oh, this girl was good, playing down her knowledge. Abby nodded, giving her a reassuring smile. "Yep. You're learnin' quick, Annie." _Oh wow, Abby is in on it,_ Ducky realized quickly, smiling to himself. _I'll let them have their fun. I trust Abby and I know she won't let anything too bad, either to herself or to Annie._

"So have you met Special Agent Gibbs yet?" Annie's head shot up from her work, her eyes darting up directly to look at Ducky's. She quickly broke their uncomfortable eye contact and pressed the back of her gloved hand to her forehead, trying to get rid of her tension-derived headache. Tony was pretty sure he just gave himself whiplash, too, which was just the icing on the cake.

"Has who met me yet?" And there's the cherry on top. Abby shot Tony a smug look and turned to talk to Gibbs. "This," she started, waving towards Tony, "is my friend Annie. We were roommates in college, and she decided to come up for a visit." Well, not a complete lie. Tony was definitely one of Abby's closest friends; they were just obviously not roommates. Abby gave Gibbs one of her wide-eyed, closed-lipped smiles, and took those few seconds of eye contact to search his face for any familiarity.

Tony looked up, giving Gibbs a stiff wave and a slight smile, and quickly went back to her work. Gibbs raised an eyebrow. "Not much of a talker, huh, Annie?

Annie raised her head and returned his curious look. "I talk when I feel it's necessary, and right now I'm working. I don't mean to be rude, but I don't find it necessary to talk through how I'm picking apart this DNA sample." Tony quickly went back to his work, sticking his eye up to the ocular lens of the microscope and tensing his shoulders. _Dear God, I hope Gibbs doesn't figure it out or I'm going to get so much shit for my stony responses._

Ducky's snort at Annie's retort was heard from the corner of the room as he watched the scene play out in front of him. He pushed himself off of the counter and patted Gibbs on the back. "Good luck with this spitfire, Jethro," he teased, referring to Annie. She looked up and let out a sharp, humored breath, giving both men a quick glance. Gibbs was smirking at her and Ducky was giving her a smug smile.

"What?" Annie asked, raising her eyebrows again. 

"Nothing, nothing," Ducky responded, raising his arms in mock surrender. "I'll be back later to check on you both. Enjoy your afternoon!"

"Bye Ducky!" Annie and Abby waved goodbye, responding in unison.

Gibbs watched in amusement. "Annie, can I talk to you for a minute?" She shot a nervous look to Abby. "Uh, yeah. Absolutely," Tony responded. He followed Gibbs out of the room and to the...elevator. Shit shit shit. Not the elevator interrogation. Tony began rocking back and forth on his feet.

"You nervous, Annie?"

She gave him a tip-lipped, stiff smile. "Oh no, not at all. It's not like I'm getting in an elevator with a person who I just met about two seconds ago. Not nervous at all, Bo-sir." She crossed her arms over her chest and stared straight ahead, glaring at the elevator doors as if willing them to open immediately. The doors dinged open and the woman steeled her shoulders and stalked inside.

"Coming?" she smirked, leaning against the back wall of the elevator, with her arms still crossed. Gibbs rolled his eyes but followed her inside, waiting until the doors closed to flick the "Stop Elevator" switch. Annie raised her eyebrows.

"What's your deal, Annie? Why are you here? And don't give me the excuse that you're Abby's friend from college."

Gibbs studied her as she tried to cover up her shock. "Well, then what do you want me to say?" she spluttered. "I _am_ her friend from college."

He took a step closer to her, his ice blue eyes staring into her green-hazel eyes. This only seemed to provoke her, causing her to stand up straighter and glare back at him. He scanned her face, taking in her familiar features: pointed nose, full lips, green-hazel eyes, chestnut brown hair...mole on her cheek. Gibbs stepped back. "I just want the truth."

"Yeah, well, Gibbs, I can't give you any more information. Figure it out," she retorted, flicking the "Stop Elevator" switch back and stepping out onto the threshold.

"DiNozzo! Don't run from me," he shouted, rushing out and grabbing the woman's wrists. She spun around angrily and glared at him. "I don't know who that is, but I'm not that person. Get your hands off of me," she spat, struggling against his grip. Gibbs stood back and let her wrists go, stunned.

"Thank you," she said stonily, storming away towards Abby's lab. Tony made it to the door and then snuck a look back, catching a glance at Gibbs standing there, speechless. He took a shaky breath and quickly pulled himself into the lab, sliding down the nearest wall and putting his head in his hands. His whole body began to shake as he quickly took in air and tears streamed down his face. "Abby, I'm so sorry, but can you just take me home? I'm not really handling today well, or these hormones, and I just really really need to go," he cried, furiously wiping his eyes.

He let out a short frustrated scream. "And my fucking hair keeps getting in my eyes. Do you have a hairtie-thingy?" he asked desperately, trying to push the ends over his shoulders. Abby looked over at his red-eyed, puffy face and walked over, kneeling down next to him with a look of sympathy and a hairtie-thingy. "It's going to be okay," Abby said soothingly, brushing Tony's hair off his face and pulling it into a loose ponytail. "That better?"

Tony nodded. "Thanks Abs," he whispered, leaning against her shoulder. "I'm so tired," he said, resting his eyes. "I'll take you home. Don't you worry, Abby Sciuto will take care of you!" she said, striking a superhero pose. Tony rolled his eyes. "You need a better superhero name, Abby." Abby made a noncommittal gesture, holding out a hand to Tony.

"Meet me at my car. I'm going to chew out Gibbs."

Abby followed Tony out of the room and set herself on a mission to find Gibbs. She couldn't _believe_ how he had treated Tony outside of the elevator. Tony and Gibbs were both tough, but Gibbs could be too tough at times, and pushing Tony to the edge was extreme and uncalled for. He could be a smart ass but he didn't deserve being manhandled and intimidated, especially in this time of weakness. Being a woman wasn't easy, but it certainly got more difficult if you suddenly got magically turned into a woman. 

"Gibbs, I have to talk to you!" 

Gibbs sighed. "I figured as much. I admit, I was wrong to treat Annie that way."

"She doesn't deserve to be treated that way! I can't believe you, Gibbs," she scolded, shaking her head at him.

"Well, you have to admit, she's very similar looking to DiNozzo."

She crossed her arm and stared at him. "Doesn't condone the behavior."

Gibbs rubbed his face. "I know. I-I don't know what came over me. I think I just wanted an explanation for something I couldn't explain. I was desperate for an explanation and I thought Annie had the answer." He hung his head. "I'm sorry," he whispered.

"What was that, Gibbs?" Abby teased.

"I said, I'm sorry. It was a bad call on my part," he said, holding her stare.

"Yes, it was. I'll pass on your apology to Annie. See you later, Gibbs! I need to drive her home." Abby skipped out of the office, excited to have extracted a Gibbs apology.

********************

Once Abby dropped off Tony at his apartment, he turned on the television and made himself a cup of tea. Not his usual but he didn't need the caffeine from coffee; he needed to calm his nerves. He curled up on his sofa, underneath a warm blanket, and flipped through the channels, settling on a random channel. He just needed to take his mind off his less than exceptional day, so he didn't care what he watched, as long as it distracted him. He couldn't believe Gibbs had treated him that way, but he wasn't surprised that he was able to put it together. It wasn't as though Abby had given him a subtle outfit; he owned the exact same clothes. And he wasn't the best actress, er, actor. Tony shook his head. _Time to watch some tv._

He settled back into the pillows and closed his eyes, listening to the droning voices of the telenovela that he happened to land on.

_Knock, knock, knock._

_KNOCK, KNOCK, KNOCK!_ "Wha-?" Tony began to wake up, hearing noises coming from his door. Fortunately, Tony hadn't spilled any tea on himself, so he clasped his hands around the cup and headed to the door.

"Abby, you just left! What's up?"

He quickly took a sip of his tea and swung open the door. His eyes widened and he promptly spat out his tea in surprise.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tony goes back to work as Annie, and Abby has a plan up her sleeve.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so sorry about the long wait for this chapter. Hopefully it doesn't suck and helps to keep everyone interested in the story. Enjoy!

Tony narrowed his eyes. "What do you want, and what are you doing here?"

"I could ask the same of you," Gibbs responded, leaning on the doorframe. "Can I come in?"

Tony nodded dumbly. "Yeah, sure," he responded in defeat, opening the door wide enough for him to pass through.

Gibbs took a seat on the opposite end of the couch. "Are you still going to pretend that I don't know, Dinozzo?"

Tony stood by the door, staring down Gibbs sitting on his couch so casually. "Well, I made it this far, so why not?" he replied, leaning against the door behind him and grinning. He quickly brought his glass of tea up to his mouth, raising his eyebrows.

"Put the tea down," Gibbs demanded. As Tony started to respond with a smartass comment, Gibbs cut him off. "Tony, please," Gibbs begged, his voice straining.

Tony widened his eyes; Gibbs never called him Tony. "Uh, yeah, sure," he stammered, placing it on the table next to his door. "What's up, Bo-?

Gibbs strode from Tony's sofa and stopped inches in front of Tony, quickly reaching his hands towards Tony's face. He cupped Tony's jaw with his hands gently and brought their lips together, gently but desperately. Tony hesitated at first to lean into the kiss but finally realized that Abby was right. As he leaned into Gibbs's embrace, he finally came to terms with the fact that Tony's true love was his boss.

Tony's instincts kicked in about a minute later, causing him to break apart from the kiss and push Gibbs away in confusion. "Where the hell did that come from?" he demanded. "Why are you even here?" he cried, tears pooling in his eyes as Gibbs stared at him in astonishment. _Is Tony being serious? How does he not know?_

"Dinozzo, don't be an idiot. Isn't it obvious?"

Tony gaped at him, suddenly feeling extremely vulnerable and exposed. He crossed his arms over his chest, trying his best not to think about his recent transformation and how that could possibly connect to his current situation, and closed his eyes. He focused on keeping the tears inside, rather than out, and on taking deep breaths, as he didn't want to have an asthma or panic attack, or both. He stood there for a few minutes, tensing up slightly as he heard the floorboards shift and a pair of strong arms wrap around him.

He gasped at the touch, no longer able to contain his emotions, and began sobbing into Gibbs's chest. He clutched Gibbs's t-shirt with all of his strength and collapsed into the embrace, fully aware that there would be a mixture of snot and tears on his boss's shirt. Gibbs began stroking Tony's long hair and pulled him closer. "Tony, breathe. Everything's okay. We'll figure everything out. Please don't worry," he murmured softly, pressing a kiss into his hair.

Tony whimpered as sobs racked through his body. "I'm just so scared," he whispered, voice slightly muffled in Gibbs's shirt. "And my hormones are so out of whack, I feel like every teenage girl in any coming-of-age movie, ever," he said, attempting to make light of his situation.

Gibbs stroked Tony's long hair, pulling him in even tighter. "I know," he mumbled into his hair. "Don't worry. We'll fix this," he declared, despite not knowing where to begin.

Gibbs planted a kiss on Tony's forehead. "Come on," he said gently. "Let's get to you bed." Tony sagged tiredly, shifting all of his weight into Gibbs's arms, and nodded in agreement. He allowed Gibbs to guide him in the direction of his bedroom and onto the bed. Gibbs slipped off his shoes and set them next to the bed. He pulled the covers over Tony and made his way towards the door.

"Stay," Tony whispered softly, almost asleep. Gibbs stopped in his tracks and turned around in shock. 

"Are you sure?"

Gibbs studied Tony's almost unconscious frame as he laid in his bed. "'M sure," he replied softly, voice already sleep-ridden and muffled by his pillow.

"Okay. Yeah, uh, of course," he said, jerkily, not wanting to make Tony feel uncomfortable. He quickly shed his shoes and crawled into the bed on the opposite side of Tony, trying to take up as little space as possible.

Tony rolled his eyes, not quite asleep yet, and laid under the covers for a while just feeling the heat rolling off of his boss. Tony knew he had feelings for his boss, feelings that had formed within his first year at NCIS, but he never imagined that those feelings would ever be revealed, or even requited. To say that Tony was shocked would be an understatement, but despite this, he was pleasantly surprised at just how right it felt. 

He rolled his eyes again and patted the bed behind him for Gibbs's arm. He grabbed it with his more delicate hands and more delicate grip and pulled it over himself, snuggling into Gibbs. Gibbs's eyes popped open, shocked at Tony's actions and that he was now intertwining their fingers. He shifted closer to Tony, snuggling closer to him and leaving a minimal amount of space between them. Tony and Gibbs finally closed their eyes, Tony humming in approval, and they fell asleep peacefully, once again finding themselves in each other's arms.

********************

Tony awakened slowly and realized three things: he was freezing, he was still a woman, and he was still wearing the same outfit that he wore the day before. He was already missing the heat from Gibbs's body that helped soothe him into a deep sleep, despite the multiple blankets and comforters still covering him.

"Gibbs?" he asked quietly, leaning up on his arm and wiping the drool off of his face. He huffed in frustration, his hair matting together and ending up in a big knot as he flipped it off his face, and glared at the floor.

A pair of feet padded softly into the room and stopped at the foot of the bed, right in Tony's line of vision. He looked up, into his boss's face, studying it carefully, in disbelief that he was still there. Gibbs waited until Tony was sitting completely upright, then handed him a steaming cup of coffee.

"Call me Jethro, please," he said, sitting on the edge of the bed next to Tony, not quite meeting Tony's eyes. "That's what you'll have to call me when you go back to NCIS today as Annie."

Tony's eyes widened at this statement, shocking him into silence. His jaw dropped open and his previous sip of coffee spilled out of his mouth and back into it, before he snapped his mouth closed. What with everything that had happened in the past day, Tony's investigative skills needed time to catch up, and he finally noticed that Gibbs seemed to feel guilty about the current situation. No wonder he wouldn't meet Tony's eyes; that and the fact that he was forcing Tony to go to work as a completely different person.

"Gibbs, I'm not Annie. She doesn't exist! How can you expect me to be her for however long this lasts?" Annie is quiet and serious, while Tony is the complete opposite: loud, rambunctious, always teasing his fellow agents, Ziva and Probie. There's no way he could successfully pull this off, and he didn't see how Gibbs expected him to.

Gibbs shot Tony a serious look. "I know this is difficult for you, Tony. Hell, I don't really know how you're handling this situation so well right now, but we need you back at NCIS, in any capacity. I need you back." Screw the fact that he's only been gone a day. Tony was a main component of Gibbs's days at NCIS. He made them enjoyable and put a smile on everyone's faces, including his own, although he tried his best to hide it. He reached out and took the coffee cup out of Tony's hands and set it aside. Grasping Tony's hands in his own, Gibbs leaned forward and placed a gentle kiss on his lips.

"Besides, I already called Abby. She's on her way with more clothes for you to wear while you help her out today."

_Knock, knock, knock!_

Tony glared at Gibbs. "Come on, Boss, seriously?" Gibbs returned the glare. "Er, Jethro, seriously?"

"She'll be able to keep an eye on you, so you don't get yourself into major trouble. You obviously trust her, as she's a main proponent of 'Annie's' backstory."

The front door opened and slammed shut shortly after. "We're in here, Abs!" Gibbs shouted, alerting her to their location in Tony's apartment.

"Gibbs? Hi! I didn't expect to see you here so soon!" she smirked. Tony blushed and started stuttering, trying his best to cough out a response. "No-nothing actually happened."

Abby shot Tony a smile akin to that of the Cheshire Cat, one that said she knew all of Tony's secrets. She dropped a small pile of clothes on the end of the bed. "Here's everything you should need for the next few days," she stated nonchalantly, catching Tony's attention. He looked up with a wide-eyed face of disbelief and fear. Abby quickly caught on to her statement and moved past Gibbs to kneel in front of Tony. 

She caught his hands in her own and rubbed her thumbs over his knuckles. "Tony, that doesn't mean this will actually last for days more, but I just want to make sure you're prepared in case it does," she cooed tenderly, trying her best to reassure him. He nodded solemnly, seemingly accepting every aspect of his situation.

Abby jumped up from the floor. "Alright! Time to get dressed!" she stated giddily, clapping her hands together. "Come on, Gibbs, we need to give her, er, him, some room," she finished guiltily, guiding him out of the room and shutting the door behind them.

Tony got up from his bed slowly and grabbed the pile of clothes, booking it into his bathroom. He stopped short when he saw his reflection in the mirror again. He had always been proud of his sharp jawline, intelligent green-hazel eyes, classic smirk and smile, and full-ish lips. He still had all of those features, but they looked so different on this new body, rather, his new body. His jawline was softer, his face in general was softer and smoother, his eyes were nearly bloodshot with how much he had cried the past day, his smirk and smile were absent at the moment, and his lips were even fuller than usual. He took a deep breath and steadied himself against the counter, pushing his wavier and longer hair behind his shoulders. 

He could do this. He was now a strong, independent...woman. He hated how this transformation made him so uncomfortable in his own skin, despite it still being his skin, albeit a different gender, but he couldn't help chuckling to himself about it. The whole situation of him turning into a woman is by no means logical and would be hilarious, if he weren't the one experiencing it.

"Tony? Are you okay? You didn't fall in, did you?" Abby asked cautiously, voice muffled by the barrier of two doors, as she was still outside his bedroom door. 

"I'll be okay. Give me a few minutes," he called back.

He turned his attention to the stack of clothes Abby left for him, this time including a package of brand new bikini-style cotton underwear. He quickly shed his turtleneck and slacks from the day before and faltered, realizing he'd been without underwear for a full 24 hours. He pushed this inappropriately-timed remark out of his mind and ripped open the package, choosing the least flashy of the pack, which was light blue. Abby brought him some jeans, more nice slacks, a fitted leather jacket, a few more bras, and plenty of button-downs and plain t-shirts. He pulled on a pair of black nearly-skinny jeans, a black bra, a black long-sleeve t-shirt, and the leather jacket.

Turning back to the mirror, Tony took in his appearance once more and noticed two more things: his hair was a hopeless mess and needed to be pulled off his face, and he, once again, owned this same outfit. There's no way that was a coincidence; it's almost as if Abby knew...but she would never put him through something like this? Would she?

_One thing at a time, Tony._

He pulled his hair into a ponytail, and once satisfied, stepped out of the bathroom, padding towards his heels at the foot of the bed. "All ready!" he called, slipping his heels on quickly.

Abby burst into the room and whistled. "Tony!! You look amazing!" she squealed, wrapping in a tight hug and jumping up and down. He chuckled warmly in response.

"Thanks Abs. But that doesn't explain why these are literally my own clothes, but for my new body. Do you happen to know anything about that?" he asked suspiciously.

She blushed and looked down at the ground, but was saved from answering by a loud thud.

"Ow."

Tony looked up and saw Gibbs rubbing a spot on his forehead, sending him into a fit of laughter. 

"What happened? Did Jethro hit his head on the doorframe because he was distracted by the pretty lady?" Tony teased.

Gibbs stared at him in shock and awe. "Maybe," he grumbled, a blush spreading up his neck and cheeks.

"Alright, well, we're all going to be late if we don't leave now. Let's go," Gibbs stated, after the uncomfortable silence, not quite able to look directly into Tony's eyes. Abby shared a smirk with Tony and followed Gibbs out the door. Tony grabbed his coffee cup and scrambled to keep up as he followed Gibbs and Abby out of his bedroom and through his apartment.

********************

"There is something about you that is familiar," Ziva declared, pointedly staring at Tony in Abby's lab.

Tony shrugged, sticking to a minimalistic response to Ziva's observations. She wasn't easy to fool, so Tony was trying to make his evasion tactics simple, by leaving no room for Ziva to poke holes in his lies. "I probably just have one of those faces."

A perplexed look fell upon her face. "One of those faces?"

"Annie just means she probably has a familiar or common face, one that a lot of people seemingly have. That's all," McGee clarified for her. She sent him a grateful smile in return.

Both McGee and Ziva continued to stare at Tony as he worked with Abby to analyze carpet fibers from a potential suspect's car. 

"What've you got, Abs?" Gibbs asked, plopping a Caf-Pow on the desk in front of Abby. "And Annie," he tacked on as an afterthought, shooting her a sheepish smile. Annie caught the smile and smirked, turning back to her work. 

_Abby can handle the explanation. I'm just going to think for a little bit while I look like I'm doing something,_ Tony thought, picking apart the fiber as Abby blabbered on and on about how, basically, they haven't found anything yet that ties this specific car to the victim that allegedly died in it. _Wait, did I just think of myself and describe myself as Annie? I'm **not** her. I'm Anthony Dinozzo Jr. I'm a man, who's name is not and will never be Annie._

He plunked his head on Abby's metal lab desk and hissed from the pain of impact. "Annie? Come on, you look like you need a break," Gibbs stated, putting a warm hand on her shoulder.

Tony lifted his head up from the table and shook it in disagreement. "I'm alright," he answered, defiantly.

Gibbs squeezed his shoulder. "Just take a quick break. Please," he begged, aware of how vulnerable he currently was in front of his team. Ziva and McGee's jaws were wide open, to the point where they could easily catch flies, at the revelation that Leroy Jethro Gibbs apparently had a heart, and was in fact, showing unknown affection towards one of Abby's very young and very not red-haired best friends.

"Jethro, I'm fine," Tony stated, less defiant than before, his resolve breaking down. Gibbs's heart soared at the use of his first name, and he couldn't help himself from displaying a huge toothy grin of satisfaction.

Gibbs held out his hand and Tony rolled his eyes. He gave Gibbs a small smile and took his hand in his own, following him obediently out of Abby's lab.

Ziva and McGee watched them leave and then turned to look at Abby in confusion and awe. "Wha-, uh, what just happened? How are they already on a first name basis?" McGee stuttered out, confused beyond belief that an almost complete stranger could break through Gibbs's walls and somehow catch his attention, despite not being a redhead.

Abby smirked. "I think Annie's caught Gibbs's attention."

Ziva furrowed her brows. "But didn't Gibbs just yell at her yesterday? That's what I caught from your reprimands. It must've been bad too because I've rarely seen you that angry."

"Love knows no bounds," Abby stated with a nonchalant shrug and wink. McGee and Ziva's jaws dropped open once again and their eyes widened to the size of saucers. Both Ziva and McGee were skilled investigators, and they knew that something was up. Annie reminded both of them of someone, but they couldn't quite place the other person. And where was Tony?

"Oh look! They're back!" she shouted as Tony and Gibbs walked back through the door of the lab, heads close together and appearing to be in the middle of a whispered conversation, immediately snapping Ziva and McGee out of their thoughts. They paused in the middle of the lab, realizing that there were three sets of eyes staring at them. Abby raised her eyebrows at them, causing Tony to wave hesitantly back at them.

"Gibbs, I think you should take Annie out on a date," Abby declared excitedly.

"A date?!" Tony spluttered, choking on his own shock.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, how does a date and more sound?

**Author's Note:**

> The ending is abrupt, but it is left open for interpretation. You can pick however you want it to end, unless you want a definite answer. Then you can just message me. :)
> 
> ***EDIT: NOW HAS MULTIPLE CHAPTERS***


End file.
